2019 Residential Weekend

PGDip students progressing from their first year of study are each year invited to attend the wonderful residential weekend in York. This is a good opportunity to meet your course mates and explore some of the city’s fascinating historic churches. I'm pleased to say we were lucky to have decent weather on the Saturday when …

Beverley Minster Roof Tour

One of the PGDip’s exciting benefits for students is the opportunity to access a range of historic churches and meet with the experts who study and care for them. A few weeks ago, I was introduced by our course leader Dr. Emma Wells to historian John Phillips (author of ‘Of a Faire Uniforme Making’, a …

The Liturgical and Communal Use of Church Buildings

For students in their second year of study, the final module of the course focuses on the use, conservation and change of church buildings. A significant part of this considers the liturgical and communal use of parish churches and how different parishes approach finding a suitable balance between the two. In Victorian Britain there grew …

The End of Churchyards?

This term the students in the second year have been looking at the parish church in its physical and social context, exploring the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ roles of the churchyard and its development over time. A part of this I’ve been particularly enjoying has focused on burial laws and the closure of churchyards in the …

Congratulations to our Graduating class of 2019!

On Saturday 20th January, we were pleased and proud to see this year’s graduating class in the PGDip in Parish Church Studies processing across the stage of the University's Central Hall. The Declaration and Presiding Officer's Address was given by Professor John Robinson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor. You can watch a full video of our fantastic graduates receive …

Commemoration of friend and former student Denis (Dick) Lane

On January 19 2019, two of our former students, John Hawes and Edward J. Arthur, rang a quarter peel at All Saints Church, Rufforth to mark the occasion of their graduation and in memory of Denis 'Dick' Lane, a friend and former student who sadly passed away in April 2018. Dick also received his posthumous …

Reflections on my first term as a student for some time

I embarked on this course as a result of an interest in medieval art and architecture and a keen interest in the many parish churches in the Welsh / English borderland where I live.  I didn’t know what to expect, and as I scientist by training, was a bit apprehensive about writing essays for which …

The End of Term 1

As I sit here on a darkening December afternoon reflecting on my first term as a student on the PGDip in Parish Church Studies, there is so much to look back on and a huge amount to look forward to.  The last ten weeks have flown by and I have found myself developing a new …

Review of Centre for Parish Church Studies 2018 conference by PGDip student

I took a weekend off work in October to attend the Centre for Parish Church Studies annual conference held at St. Martin-at-Palace in partnership with the Norwich Historic Churches Trust. This one-day conference is held every other year and this time addressed the question ‘what is an appropriate (re)use for a church?’. William Whyte, Molly …

Welcome to a brand new cohort!

We have recently welcomed a brand new cohort of students on to the PGDip in Parish Church Studies! This is exciting times and, now with the CCT partnership established, it is hoped that this is evidence of a very successful programme to continue! As the module begins, further updates will be posted by our brand …